Poaching an egg has become an obsession throughout the web. And, it is not easy to poach it, that’s for sure. Thousands of videos show the same thing – you heat up the water to a simmer, spin it, and break the egg in.
But does it actually work? The best you get is half of your egg poached and half of the whites scattered around the bowl. And, if you pick the scattered parts up and try to eat them, they taste horrible! This is the solution to your troubles.
Enter the Sieve
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The sieve is a simple but effective kitchen tool. It is a fine strainer that separates the water from other materials in it, and it can vary in size and shape, although it is usually round. For this hack, you need the round, concave sieve if small to medium size.
Not larger than the dish you are using to boil the water. It will also require a handle of some sort. There are sieves that have no handles which are placed on the opening of the dish directly. We can’t use those.
How to make a poached egg with a sieve
Photo by: Zach DeSart
The first step is simple. Just pour a sufficient amount of water into your pot and heat the water up to a boil. When it starts bubbling, reduce it to a simmer and wait a few minutes. Then, take your sieve and egg over the sink and crack the egg into the sieve there.
This will allow the excess whites to drain through. That part of the egg white is a bit more watery than most of it and it is usually recommended you remove it in any method. Then, once the remaining firm egg white and yolk remain, place it together with the sieve into your simmering water.
The key part
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks
You will keep it in the sieve for the entirety of poaching! Do not remove the sieve at all. Once your egg is poached, you then remove the sieve. After that, it is simple. Just dry off the excess moisture by resting the egg on a paper towel and then serve as you like. You can also use a ladle in the same way, though it will not allow for easy draining of the excess liquid whites.
